Maui: Smart grid test bed?

1

Japan's Hitachi, Cyber Defence Institute and Mizuho Corporate Bank have been selected to work with Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), the Hawaiian state government, the University of Hawaii and U.S. national laboratories on a smart grid demonstration project on the island of Maui. It's the second such project announced by a similar cast of players in the past seven months. Also, GE embarked on a smart grid metering pilot there last year.

So what is it about Maui that makes it such a popular place for smart grid demos and pilots? The best short answer may well be necessity.

The Hawaiian islands have some of the country's highest electric rates, and they're vulnerable because they depend on shipped in diesel for a substantial amount of their power. Also, solar is extremely popular there – so much so that increasing numbers of homeowners and businesses are backing off on solar projects because they could be required to  pay for studies to find out if higher solar loads will affect grid stability. HECO is nervous about potential threats to grid stability and reliability from the influx of solar and is doing what it can to deal with the challenge.

Add to that increased demand, much of it caused by a real estate development boom on Maui over the past decade. And it's not just a traditionally popular tourist destination, it's also very popular with retirees.

Consequently the demo project, which Hitachi will lead, focuses on control: advanced load shifting for optimum use of renewables, direct control of home appliances and solar generation output to manage quick changes in power supply and demand, integration of EV management systems with the grid management system to manage the impacts of high EV concentrations, and autonomous control architecture (intended to support scalability and rapid response energy control). The project also will cover cyber security and related issues, too.

The joint project is based on the Japan-U.S. Clean Energy Technologies Action Plan of 2009, and is expected to wrap up in early 2014 with a price tag of about $37 million.

You might also be interested in ...

Hawaii smart grid toolkit

Smart grid collaborations launched in Hawaii, Korea

GE Smart Grid Pilot: Show Time in Maui